Furnace construction



jme E@ 393 Q. F. GQTTLIEB 29554573 5 FURNACE CONS TRUCTION Filed July 16, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet l @scm/275 @pif/fak jm@ 3.93@ l O, F. GOTTUEB 2,046,115

FURNACE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 16, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 O. F. GOTTLIEBv FURNACE CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet v 3 Filed July 1G, 1934 Patented June 30, 1936 iieil'i'l STATES PATENT CFFICE FURNACE CONSTRUCTION Application July 16, 1934, Serial No. 735,405

10 Claims.

This invention relates to a furnace construction, suitable for heat treating, welding and brazing operations, having a heating chamber provided with dies for holding the material being 5 heated.

More specifically this invention relates to a batch type brazing or welding furnace provided with a stationary bottom die for receiving metal articles to be welded or brazed. and a vertically in movable top die cooperating with said bottom die to clamp or hold the metal being treated to prevent the same from becoming warped or buckled and to aid the welding or brazing operations.

It is an object of this invention to provide a l5 furnace construction with a heating chamber therein equipped with a pair of dies for holding metal articles during the heating operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a metallurgical furnace having mechanically operated metal holding dies in the heating chamber thereof.

A specific object of this invention is toprovide a furnace for welding or brazing metal articles having a stationary bottom die for receiving said metal articles and a vertically movable top die for holding said articles in proper shape under pressure during the heating operation.

A further object of this invention is to provide a furnace construction with mechanically operated dies mounted in the heating chamber thereof.

Another object of this invention is to provide a furnace structure with a mechanically operated i3 charging door.

Another specific object of this invention is to prepare a Welding or brazing furnace construction in which metal articles are held in position during the heat treatment by a pair of mechanically operated and electrically controlled holding dies.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and annexed sheets of drawings which form a part of this specification.

On the drawings:

Figure l is an end elevational View of a preferred form of furnace construction according to this invention with the charging door removed and with parts in vertical cross-section.

Figure 2 is a central cross-sectional View taken substantially along the line II-II of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a broken end elevational view showing the charging door construction of the furnace.

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the holding dies taken substantially along the line IV-IV of Figure l.

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the holding dies taken substantially along the line V-V of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic wiring diagram of the electrical control means for the holding dies and charging door.

As shown on the drawings:

In Figures l, 2, and 3 the reference numeral I0 indicates generally the frame structure for the furnace. Insulating material II such as fire bricks or the like is built up in said frame structure Iii to define the top, bottom and sides of a heating chamber I2.

The chamber I2 may be heated by gas through a plurality of ports such as IS shown in Figure 2. Obviously the chamber may also be heated by electrical means or by any other means without departing from the principle of this invention.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2 a bottom die or mold I4 is supported in the heating chamber I2 in spaced relation from the walls thereof on a plurality of vertical rods I5 extending through the bottom of the furnace. The rods I5 are slidable in tubes I6 mounted in the bottom of the furnace and are pivotally secured at their ends to the arms I 'l of shock absorbing and leveling supports I8 mounted below the furnace in the frame structure It.

Each support I8 includes the arm I'I which is keyed to a shaft I9 rotatably mounted in the support I8. A second arm 20 is also keyed to the shaft I9 and is slotted near the end thereof to receive the pin 2l of a boss 22 slidable over a horizontal rod 23. Springs 24 are held under compression between the bosses 22 and adjusting nuts 25 in screw thread relation with the ends of the rod 23. Locking nuts 26 may also be provided to set the nuts 25 in adjusted relation.

This supporting structure provides a mounting for the bottom die I4 which is readily adjusted to level the die and which permits downward movement of the die toward the furnace floor when top pressure on the die exceeds the desired limit. The die is thus cushioned against sudden overload and is readily adjusted in alignment.

A plurality of ears or lugs 2l are integrally secured around the peripheral edges of the bottom die I4. Each ear 21 carries a pin 28 extending vertically upward therefrom.

A top die 30 is superimposed over the Vbottom die I4 and has a plurality of aperture-d ears or lugs 3| for receiving the pin 28 therethrough.

The top die 38 is suspended from a plurality of rods 32 extending through the roof of the furnace in slidable relation to tubes 33 which are secured in the furnace roof. The rods 32 are also slidable through bosses 34 having flanges 35 rest ing on the top of the furnace for sealing the apertures in which the tubes 33 are mounted.

-The top ends of the rods 32 are coupled by means of couplings 36 to the lower ends of shafts 31 which are slidable through bosses 38. The

bosses 38 are pivotally connected at 39 (Figure 1) The link arm 48, at the other Y shaft 44. The middle of the shaft 44 is pivotally connected at 45 tothe piston rod 46 of an air cylinder 41 which is suspended fromtheA frame structure 8 by a pivot 48.V The top portions of the shafts 31 are slidable through bosses 49 which arerswivelled at 58 to the frame structure y The Vpivots and swivel connections permit swinging the air cylinder and attendant lifting mechanism away from the tops of the rods 32 se that these rods may be readily inserted in posi'- tion through the furnace roof. It is obvious, ofA

course, that the lifting mechanism may be rigidly mounted above the furnace without departing from the'principle of the invention.

From the above description of the air cylinder mechanism it is obvious that a piston 5| in the air cylinder 41 may be raisedv by compressed air to lift the top die 38 in spaced relation from the bottom die I4. Likewise compressed air may be used.

to force the piston 5| downward to maintain the dies I4 and 38 in pressure relation.

As shown in Figures Zand 3 the furnace is pro- .vided with a charging door 68 which is vertically slidable in tracks or guides 6| and 62 carried by the frame structure I8 in front of the furnace. Ayoke 63 is secured to the top of the charging door and is provided at the center thereof with an eye member 64 which member receives the end of a cable or exible metal band 65.

YHorizontal channel beams 66 are mounted to the tops of the tracks or guide members Bland 62. A shaft 61 extends between the channel members66 to form an axle for a lever 58 having an arcuate end 69 thereon. The arcuate portion 69 is grooved in the center thereof as indicated at 18 to form a seat for the cable 65.

The other end of the lever 68 is pivoted to the piston rod 1| of an air cylinder 12. rIne air cylinder 12 is pivoted to the trackV member 62 at 13.

The above described Vstructure provides mechanical means for raising and lowering Vthe charging door 68. Itis obvious that a reciproca- .tion of the pistonrod 1| of the air cylinder 12 will'result in a tilting of the lever 68 about'the axle 61 to raise and lower the arcuate portion 63, thereby wrapping and unwrapping the cable of sheet metal evaporator unit for refrigerators. VThe shells 88 and 8| are to be welded together along their inner contacting surfaces during the heat treating operationV in the furnace. It is ob- Y bolts indicated at 84. The end sections |4a and vious, of course, that any shape or form of dies' I4 and 38 may be used in place of the dies shown .in Figures 4 and 5 without departing from the principle of this invention.

The top die 38 is preferably formed in two sections 38a and 30h respectively which are bolted together by means of bolts such as 82.

Each section 38a and 38h in the top die 38 is provided with an integral boss member 83 for receiving therein lifting rod 32 described above.

The bottom |3 shown in Figures 4 and 5 is f formed in three sections |4a, |41), and |40 respectively. 'Ihe end sections |4a and I4c are joined to the central section I4b by means of rivets or |4c of the lower dies I4 are equipped with integral couplings 85 for receiving therein the ends of the supports I5. Likewise the central portion |41? of the lower die I4 is provided with an integral coupling 66 for receiving the center support I5.

The lowerdie I4 is thus coupled to the'supports I6 in the couplings 85 and86 provided therein while the upper die 38 is coupled to the lifting rods'32 by means of the couplings 83. Any other securing means, of course, may be used without 25 departing from the principle of this invention.

It should be noted that the dies I4 and 38 contact the evaporator shells f88'and 8| only opposite fected by the pressure between the dies.

In the wiring diagram shown in Figurer, the reference numerals 98 and 9| indicate the Vmain power lines forming a source of electric current 35 of standard voltage. Thesepower lines 98 and 9| are connected through adouble pole switch 92 to lead-in wires 93 and94 which are joined to a standard delayed action switch unit 96 and a relay switch 91.

The air cylinder 41 for raising and lowering the top die 38 in the furnace is supplied with compressed air through pipe lines 88 and 99. The pipe lines 98 and 99 are coupled at their otheri ends with a valve having a manually operated control lever |8| pivoted above the valve at |8|a.

Air or other compressed fluid is supplied from a suitable source (not shown) through a throttling valve |82 into the control valve |88. An exhaust line |03 is connected with the control '-.falve |88 for permitting the escape of air from t`ne cylinder 41.

The air cylinder 12 for controlling the operation of the charging door 68 is lil-:ewise connected through pipe lines |84 and |85 to a control valve |86. The valve |86 is supplied with compressed air or other fluid from a source not shown through a throttlevalve |81. The fluid inay be exhausted through an exhaust pipe |88. A manually controlled lever |89 is pivoted at |89a above the con- 670 trol valve |86.

Solenoids I|8 and` IEI having armatures ||8a and Illa are positioned respectively adjacent to the valves |88 and I86. The armatures IIDa and IVI la are pivotally connected with the valve Ycontrol levers I8I and |89 respectively.

When the controlV klevers I8| and |89 of the valves |88 and I 86 are depressed, air is allowed y to pass through the throttle valves |82 and |81 70 respectively into the pipe lines 99 andk 84 respectively for lowering the piston in air cylinder 41 to drop the die 38 on the stationary die I 4 `and for raising the piston in air cylinder 12 to the lower door 68. At the same time, however, 75

the armatures vI IDa land II I a are also raised by the control levers I III and |09. The delayed action switch 96 has been previously set to operate for a vpredetermined period of time before the contacting point H2 therein closes the circuit between Vthe wires I I3 and II4. When the circuit between the wires I I3 and I I4 is closed, current from the Wire 93 travels through the wire IIll to energize the relay switch 9'I thereby closing the same. When the relay switch 91 is closed the solenoids IIB and III are energized to depress their respective armatures I Illa and |I|a thereby throwing the valvesI VIIlIl and |96 so that the operating fluid from the throttle valves |92 and `Iill will be exhausted from the pipes 99 and |94 and directed into the pipes 98 and |95. In this manner the piston in air cylinder 47 is automatically raised and the die 39 lifted vertically in the furnace while the charging door is automatically opened by forcing the piston in the cylinder 'I2 downward. In this manner the article to be welded or otherwise heat treated between the dies I4 and 99 is maintained under pressure in the dies for an exact predetermined time interval. When the predetermined time interval has elapsed the top die is automatically raised and the charging door is automatically opened to permit removal of the welded or heat treated article.

In order to set the delayed action switch 96 for the next operation a knocker bar II5 is mounted on the under side of the lever 68 from which the furnace door E0 is suspended. The knocker bar I I 5 comes into contact With the end II@ of a pivoted bar II'I which normally makes Contact between wires II 8 and ||9, to energize the motor in the delayed action switch. When the knocker bar I|5 depresses the pivot arm I II, however, contact between the wires I8 and I I9 is broken and the motor is de-energized. The contact point II2 of the delayed action mechanism then drops back into the position indicated in dotted lines at ||2a for resetting the motor. When the valve control arm IDI is again manually depressed for the next operation the piston rod 'II is` raised and the knocker bar II5 is moved out of contact with the pivot arm I'I thereby permitting it to again make contact between the wires |I8 and I|9 to thereby energize the motor in the delayed action switch for starting the operation described above. It is obvious that other arrangements of relay switches and control valves may be used in place of the specific embodiment shown in the wiring diagram.

I am aware that many changes may be made and numerous details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and I, therefore, do not purpose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

l. A furnace construction comprising a heating chamber, a die mounted in the central portion of said heating chamber in spaced relation from the wallsl thereof, a plurality of vertical supports for said die extending through the bottom of said chamber and means for adjusting said supports to control the level of said die.

2. A furnace construction comprising a heating chamber with top, bottom and side walls, said top and bottom walls having apertures extending therethrough, a` die in the central portion of said heating chamber in spaced relation from the walls thereof, a plurality of vertical rods extending through the apertures in the bottom of said heating chamber for supporting said die, means outside of the heating chamber for adjusting the rods to level the die, a top die superimposed over said rst mentioned die, a plurality of rods extending through the apertures in the top wall of said heating chamber secured to said top die and means for raising and lowering said rods.

' 3. A furnace construction comprising a heating chamber having top, bottom and side walls, tubes lextending through said top and bottom walls, a

bottom die in said heating chamber in spaced relation from the walls thereof, a plurality of rods extending through the tubes in the bottom wall of said heating chamber, means for raising and lowering said rods to level said bottom die, a top die superimposed over said bottom die, a plurality of rods secured to said top die, slidable in the tubes in the top wall, an air lifting apparatus 351 connected with the ends of said rods and means for actuating said lifting apparatus to vertically move said top die relative to said bottom die.

4. In a furnace, a central heating chamber having top, bottom and side walls, a stationary die in said chamber in spaced relation from the walls thereof, a plurality of vertical supports for said die extending through the bottom Wall of said heating chamber, means below the bottom wall fo-r adjusting said supports to level the die i and resilient means for transmitting the adjusting movement to the supports whereby said die is both resiliently and adjustably supported in the furnace.

5. A furnace comprising a frame structure,

on said rods in said chamber and means to slide said rods in the tubes to level one of said dies and to move the other of said dies in spaced relation therefrom for receiving an article therebetween 6. In a furnace construction having a die mounted therein on rods which extend through the bottom of the furnace, supporting means for each of said rods below the furnace comprising a horizontal shaft, a horizontal arm keyed to said shaft at one end thereof, a boss on the other end 'n of said arm for receiving said rod, a vertical arm keyed to said shaft, a horizontal rod normal to said shaft, a boss slidable on said rod for engaging said vertical arm and a Spring held under compression on said horizontal rod to maintain said arm in vertical position.

7. A furnace comprising, in combination, a heating chamber, a die in said heating chamber, rods secured to said die for holding the same in position in the heating chamber, rotatably "i mounted shafts below each rod having an arm keyed thereon for receiving the end of a rod, a horizontal rod extending between two adjacent shafts in spaced relation from said shafts, bosses slidable on said rod, a second arm keyed on each of said shafts for engaging one of said bosses, coil springs on the ends of said horizontal rod urged against said bosses and means for varying the compression of said springs to level said die.

8. A furnace construction comprising a heating chamber having a bottom wall, a die in said chamber, a plurality of supports for said die extending through the bottom wall of said heating chamber, arms pivoted to the ends of said supports, rotatable shafts for supporting said arms Y vin fixed relation thereon, spring means for holding said shafts against rotation and means to adjust said spring means for rotating the shafts individually whereby said die is resiliently supported and adjusted from outside of the heating chamber. Y o

9. A furnace construction comprising a heating chamber having a bottom wall, a die in said chamber, a plurality of supports for said die arranged in spaced pairs and extending through the bottom Wall of the heating chamber, rotatably mounted bell cranks arranged in pairs having one arm thereof pivoted tothe ends of each pair oi' supports, rods extending between each pair of bell cranks, bushings slidably `mounted on said rods and secured to the other arms of the bellV cranks, coiled springs disposed around the ends of the rods for acting against the bushings thereon and means to adjust the compression of vsaid springs whereby the die is resiliently supported and adjusted from outside of the heating chamber. Y

l0. A furnace construction comprising a heating chamber, a die mounted in the central por- 

